The next trillion-dollar currency may not be a stablecoin — it might not even have a name yet
Industry leaders are debating the future of currency for autonomous AI agents, suggesting that crypto-based assets will likely replace traditional bank accounts. Because AI agents cannot easily pass human identity verification, crypto wallets are viewed as the most viable 'machine banking' solution.
Why it matters
As AI agents become more autonomous in commerce, the need for a machine-native payment system could drive significant adoption of stablecoins or specialized crypto tokens.
This is not theoretical for Animoca. The company pivoted from virtual worlds to an AI-driven metaverse in May and announced an investment program of up to $10 million for developers building applications on its AI agent platform, Minds . Siu’s argument is that the metaverse may no longer be somewhere people go. Instead, AI agents could handle bookings, payments, scheduling and commerce in the background on their behalf.
That leaves a fundamental question for Animoca and the wider industry: what will those agents use to pay each other?
“There will be an AI currency coming,” said Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe, in a video interview. “This is not going to be fiat, for sure. It will be a stablecoin or some other crypto token, whatever this is going to be, that is going to be by far, by far the largest currency that this world has ever seen.”
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